Review of Straight Outta Compton (2015) by Brett H — 22 Jan 2016
The rap group that changed the game and made everyone take a step back and listen to what they had to say during the 90s finally get their big-screen biopic and while it gets some of the facts wrong and/or leaves some elements out; this is a damn good film that kept me entertained and I felt very informed after it was all said and done.
Produced by both Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, the film definitely glorifies this time in their lives, but it's not too far-off from the truth and it's commendable in that right. The young cast embodies their real-life counter-parts exceptionally well with the stand-outs being the three main leads: Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, and O'Shea Jackson Jr playing Dr.
Dre, Eazy-E, and Ice Cube respectively, and O'Shea Jackson Jr impressed me the most; portraying his father must have been awkward as hell! The story follows the inception and eventual breakdown of the controversial rap group, N.
W.A. as they made a huge splash in the hip hop world and then were systematically broken down by in-fighting and betrayals; we've seen these types of stories before, but it's handled with a bit more flavour here to keep it truly investing.
The soundtrack is of course great, and seeing these guys perform all of the group's biggest hits on stage gets your blood pumping and you feel the impact their music carried. I watched the director's cut of the film which adds 20 minutes of footage, providing extra connecting pieces to some of the film's many subplots, though at nearly three hours, I didn't see all of the material on-screen as necessary.
As a film fan first, and not at all a big fan of hip-hop/rap, I enjoyed this biopic a lot more than I thought I would as it had shadings of Boyz N The Hood (also starring Ice Cube) and I feel that it served its subjects very well with impressive acting and a mostly factual account of their time in N.
W.A. Look out for the appearances of Snoop Dogg and Tupac (played by other people); you'll swear Tupac is still alive, this guy NAILS it!
This review of Straight Outta Compton (2015) was written by Brett H on 22 Jan 2016.
Straight Outta Compton has generally received very positive reviews.
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